Papers
1
Total Citations
7
H-Index
1
About
John Rice is an observational astronomer whose work has focused on the detection and characterization of small bodies in the outer Solar System. He is best known for his central role in the Taiwan-America Occultation Survey (TAOS), a pioneering project designed to measure the population of small trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) using stellar occultations. Rice’s major contribution was the development and operation of a four-telescope robotic array at Lulin Observatory in Taiwan, which enabled the first systematic, high-cadence search for these faint, distant objects. By monitoring thousands of stars for brief dimming events, the TAOS project provided critical upper limits on the number of kilometer-scale TNOs, directly constraining models of Solar System formation and evolution. His foundational 2006 paper describing the survey’s design and early results has been cited over 70 times, establishing a benchmark for occultation-based surveys. Rice’s work has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of the Kuiper Belt’s size distribution, and his technical innovations in automated, wide-field photometry continue to influence the design of next-generation surveys for small Solar System bodies.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Search for Small Trans-Neptunian Objects by the TAOS Project7 citations · 2006